New series of Wood Awards project talks unveiled

After the success of the first series of designTimber in 2022, Timber Development UK has announced a second edition.

It will host a series of webinars, running monthly from March to July this year, about timber buildings and furniture selected from the 2022 Wood Awards winners and shortlist.

The lunchtime talks will be presented by the architects, structural engineers and other specialists from the multidisciplinary teams behind the projects.

Spanning innovations in modular construction, transformative renovation and use of locally grown timber, the online series will highlight some of the most accomplished and sustainable examples of timber design and construction in the UK.

The series will begin on Wednesday 1 March with a presentation of Homerton College Dining Hall, which won the Gold, Structural and Education & Public Sector Awards in last year’s Wood Awards.

Designed by Feilden Fowles, the project provides a soaring timber-framed hall, as well as a buttery, kitchens and amenities for Homerton College, Cambridge. During the webinar, architect Eleanor Hedley from Feilden Fowles, engineer Sophie Frith from Structure Workshop, and timber specialist Paul Tracey from Constructional Timber will discuss the design and process of this unique timber project. Attendees will learn how traditional carpentry and high performing engineered timber were brought together to create the iconic butterfly truss frame, and how this celebration of material runs through the entire project.

The second webinar will feature Tonkin Liu’s ingenious restoration and reuse project, the Water Tower on 15 March. As the series of free talks continues, presentations will include Knox Bhavan’s modular riverside home, March House, UK Hardwoods’ locally-grown glulam Storage Building and the extraordinary Fenland Black Oak project.

The designTimber talks are programmed by TDUK, main organizer of the Wood Awards, along with the American Hardwood Export Council, Carpenters’ Company, American Softwoods and Zublin Timber.

These talks are ideally suited to architects, engineers, designers and students interested in timber and low carbon construction. We also encourage anyone considering entering the Wood Awards 2023 to come and learn about last year’s winning and shortlisted projects.

Registration links:

Homerton College Dining Hall – https://timberdevelopment.uk/event/designtimber-homerton-college-dining-hall/

Water Tower – https://timberdevelopment.uk/event/designtimber-water-tower/

All talks will be recorded and available on the TDUK YouTube channel. You can catch up on designTimber2022 which includes Magdelene College Library, the Wooden Annex and Built: East Pavilion.